UC-NRLF 


SB     5     blE 


A\m  OPERATION 


of 


WATER  AND  RAIL  TERMINAL  FACILITIES 

PRODUCE      THE    GREATEST    DISPATCH 

AND  ECONOMY 

By  ROBERT  BRIDGES, 
President  Seattle  Port  Commission. 

Prepared  for  the 

SIXTH   ANNUAL    CONVENTION   LEAGUE 
OF  WASHINGTON  MUNICIPALITIES 

NORTH  YAKIMA,  OCTOBER  6-7-8,  1915 


Seattle: 
The  H.  C.   Pigott  Printing  Concern. 


. 

*  «•   •      ' 


PUBLIC  OWNERSHIP  AND  OPERATION  OF  WATER  AND 
RAIL  TERMINAL  FACILITIES  PRODUCE  THE  GREAT- 
EST DISPATCH  AND  ECONOMY. 

By  ROBERT  BRIDGES,  President  Seattle  Port  Commission. 


Waterfront   a  Priceless  Possession. 

The  waterfront  of  a  great  seaport  is  a  priceless  possession  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  control  it.  Such  possession  enables  its  proprietors  to 
levy  tribute  upon  every  pound  and  item  of  outgoing  and  incoming 
commerce  moving  to  and  from  every  corner  of  the  world.  Hence,  the 
aggressive  and  over  insistent  effort  on  the  part  of  transportation  com- 
panies and  other  profit-seeking  corporations  and  interests  to  secure  con- 
trol of  this  valuable  property.  The  history  of  all  American  ports  — 
save  San  Francisco  and  New  Orleans  —  has  been  in  this  regard  practically 
the  same.  Private  corporations,  and  particularly  transportation  corpora- 
tions, have  acquired  practically  all  the  available  commercial  waterfront 
of  America.  The  railroad  is  the  great  agent  of  modern  development.  A 
waterfront  is  merely  a  more  or  less  ornamental  property  unless  it  is 
connected  with  the  inland  territory  by  the  steel  highway.  In  the  early 
stages  of  a  port's  development  the  paramount  consideration  is  to  induce 
railroads  to  locate  their  termini  at  such  port.  It  is  therefore,  obvious 
that  the  railroad  company  proposing  to  so  locate  would  be  in  a  position 
to  dictate  the  terms  upon  which  it  would  enter,  and  it  is  also  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  these  terms  would  inevitably  include  the  surrender  of  a 
generous  slice  of  the  waterfront  to  the  exclusive  ownership  and  control 
of  such  railroad.  These  original  grants  were  not  immediately  injurious. 
On  the  contrary,  the  entrance  of  the  railroad  was  a  condition  precedent 
to  business  development.  But  our  transportation  corporations  are  not 
timid  in  their  demands)  nor  is  their  hunger  for  privileges  easily  appeased. 
No  great  length  of  time  was  required,  therefore,  for  the  powerful  railroad 
systems  or  combinations  of  individual  companies  to  acquire  control  of  all 
the  available  waterfront  of  all  the  important  seaports,  with  the  exceptions 
noted.  Then  the  yoke  which  they  had  placed  upon  their  necks  began  to 
gall  the  donors  of  these  privileges.  The  railroad  systems  or  combinations 
having  a  strangle  hold  upon  the  very  arteries  of  commerce  could  suck 
the  life  blood  of  local  industry,  and  having  a  monopoly  of  the  port 
facilities  could  effectually  bar  out  competing  lines,  or  else  admit  the  late 
coming  railroads  upon  such  terms  as  would  nullify 


Injurious  Results  of  Private  Ownership. 

A  port,  therefore,  whose  waterfront  is  preempted  by  private  railroad 
terminals  is  necessarily  restricted  to  the  service  of  the  railroads  owning 
the  same.  All  other  railroads  in  the  future,  no  matter  how  anxious  they 


£44365 


ERMINALS 


may  be  to  enter  such  port  and  no  matter  how  advantageous  the  entrance 
of  such  railroads  might  be  to  the  community,  are  denied  the  necessary 
facilities.  Furthermore,  such  port  under  such  conditions  is  destined 
inevitably  to  become  a  mere  convenience  to  such  franchise  owners,  to  be 
used  by  them  as  a  trans-shipping  point  merely,  without  regard  to  the 
interests  of  the  donors  of  the  franchises,  but  with  regard  only  to  the  profit 
of  the  corporations  owning  the  same.  This  is  the  condition  which  is 
pressing  with  more  or  less  severity  upon  all  the  port  cities  from  Boston 
to  Seattle — with  the  exceptions  noted — and  the  problem  of  how  these 
bonds  may  be  broken  has  become  the  vital  subject  of  consideration  and 
effort  on  the  part  of  all  the  cities  affected.  And  in  this  connection  it 
should  be  a  source  of  pride  to  the  people  of  San  Francisco  and  New 
Orleans  that  these  are  being  pointed  out  and  designated  as  an  illustration 
of  how  the  problem  may  be  and  has  been  solved,  and  their  policy  and 
methods  in  this  regard  are  being  investigated  and  studied  by  such  great 
and  prosperous  municipalities  as  New  York,  Boston,  Baltimore,  Detroit, 
Seattle,  and  other  cities. 

Essential  Benefits  of  Public  Administration. 

I  have  said  that  the  waterfront  of  a  great  seaport  is  a  priceless  posses- 
sion in  the  hands  of  its  proprietor's.  There  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  owner- 
ship and  utilization  to  which  this  possession  is  subject.  The  port  facilities 
may  be  owned  and  operated  by  private  corporations  as  heretofore  detailed; 
or  the  ownership  and  operation  of  the  same  may  rest  in  the  hands  of  the 
municipality  or  the  people.  If  private  interests  are  the  proprietors,  then 
such  facilities  are  exceedingly  valuable  assets  for  the  production  of  reve- 
nues and  the  generation  of  power  for  such  private  interests.  If  these 
facilities  are  owned  by  the  people  and  operated  in  their  behalf,  then  the 
resultant  benefits  flow  toward  the  municipality  as  a  whole  and  toward 
the  individual  citizens  who  constitute  the  same. 

From  what  has  been  said  before,  it  is  obvious  that  the  fundamental 
benefit  of  public  ownership,  control  and  operation  of  port  facilities 
is  that  thereby  the  port  is  kept  open — that  is,  no  special  interest  or 
combination  of  interests  is  permitted  to  monopolize  for  selfish  profit 
the  tollgate  that  opens  out  upon  the  limitless  commerce  of  the  seas,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  upon  the  great  highways  of  inland  trade  on  the  other. 
The  secondary  or  sequent  benefits  that  follow  this  fundamental  fact  are 
that  all  transportation  agencies,  not  only  in  present  but  in  prospective 
operation,  are  invited  to  conduct  their  business  through  such  open  port 
upon  the  basis  of  equal  facilities,  minimum  charges  and  equitable  terms; 
that  such  invitation  and  treatment  will  not  only  increase  the  volume  of 
traffic  through  such  ports,  but  will  place  such  transportation  agencies  in 
the  relation  of  active  competition  with  each  other.  This  real  compe- 
titive relatioiT^wTll  in  turn  reduce  the  transportation  rates  and  will  in 
consequence  not  only  increase  the  desirability  of  such  port  as  transship- 
ping point,  from  the  shipper's  point  of  view,  but  will  render  it,  to  the 
extent  of  its  advantage  in  ttite  regard  the  most  favorable  location  for 
originating  traffic  for  both  the  export  and  inland  trade  and  thus  develop 
local  industries  and  advance  individual  and  municipal  prosperity. 


ROBERT   BRIDGES  3 

It  is  a  fact  that  trade  follows  the  line  of  least  resistance,  or  in  other 
words,  will  gravitate  towards  that  environment  which  is  most  favorable 
to  expeditious  and  inexpensive  movement.  I  have  heretofore  pointed 
out  that  an  open  port,  or  a  port  at  which  there  is  active  competition 
between  transportation  companies,  is  a  consideration  of  primary  impor- 
tance in  this  regard,  and  I  have  shown  how  private  ownership  of  terminal 
facilities  will  close  the  port  and  strangle  competition,  and  how  public, 
or  neutral,  ownership  will  produce  the  directly  contrary  result.  But 
there  are  other  considerations  than  transportation  rates  and  competition 
in  the  development  of  a  transshipping  point  as  well  as  a  port  market. 
Assembling  cargoes  for  shipment,  warehousing  the  same  when  necessary, 
docking  the  ships,  transferring  goods  from  railroad  to  railroad,  from 
railroads  to  ships,  from  ships  to  railroads  and  from  industry  or  factory 
to  trunk  lines  and  wharves,  are  all  units  of  movement  which  entail 
expense.  The  more  efficiently  and  economically  these  units  are  co-ordi- 
nated the  less  will  be  the  charges  and  the  more  satisfactory  the  service 
per  unit  or  per  combination  of  units.  It  should,  therefore,  be  the  aim 
of  those  interested  in  the  development  of  the  port  to  address  themselves 
earnestly  to  these  considrations. 

Principle  of  Public  Ownership  Paramount. 

I  have  specified  some  of  the  items  of  development  and  some  of  the 
details  of  the  result  of  public  ownership,  control  and  .operation  of  the 
docks,  switching  facilities  and  the  proposed  warehouse  system  such 
as  prevail  in  the  ports  of  New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco,  not  so  much 
for  the  purpose  of  benefits  that  flow  from  the  public  administration 
of  these  facilities,  as  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  the  principle  involved. 

New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco  possess  their  waterfront. 

By  unusual  good  fortune  this  possession  has  not  been  alienated,  but 
is  held  by  the  people  to  whom  it  of  right  belongs  and  for  whose  benefit 
it  should  of  right  be  administered;  and  through  the  farsighted  and 
patriotic  vision  of  some  of  their  citizens  in  the  years  gone  by,  this  policy 
of  administration  has  been  reduced  to  a  concrete  and  effective  system. 
In  point  of  fundamental  preparation  for  the  great  era  of  trade  expansion 
which  is  sure  to  come  within  the  next  few_years,  New  Orleans  and  San 
Francisco  are  distinctly  ahead  of  all  their  rivals.  This  advantage  lies 
not  so  much  in  the  extent  of  the  facilities  for  commerce  and  trade  actually 
in  complete  operation,  as  in  the  fact  that  their  system  is  based  upon  a 
principle  which  renders  it  susceptible  to  unlimited  automatic  extension 
and  improvement,  whereas  the  other  ports  have  by  private  grants  throt- 
tled development  on  comprehensive  lines  and  constructive -growth  within 
the  limits  set  by  the  will  or  interest  of  those  who  hold  control. 

Thus  those  cities  which  are  not  so  fortunate  as  New  Orleans  and 
San  Francisco  in  this  respect  have  a  double  task  to  perform.  First,  they 
must  dislodge  these  private  grantees  either  by  purchase  involving  the 
expenditure  of  enormous  sums  of  money,  or  by  some  other  means;  and 
then  they  must  undertake  the  actual  work  of  reconstruction  and  develop- 


4  PUBLIC    TERMINALS 

ment  f whereas,,  all  that  New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco  have  to  do  is  to 
build  upon  the  broad,  deep,  lasting  and  unimpeachably  correct  founda- 
tions already  laid.  The  day  is  passing  and  indeed  has  already  passed 
when  the  great  prolific  privileges  which  minister  to  the  needs  and  make 
for  the  prosperity  of  all  the  people  can  be  summarily  grabbed  by  the 
private  few  and  monopolized  by  these  for  their  own  private  profit  and  for 
the  oppression  of  the  rightful  but  unwatchful  owners  thereof.  The 
waterfront  facilities  of  a  port  constitute  such  a  prolific  privilege. 

If  the  franchise  to  control  and  operate  these  facilities  is  held  by 
private  interests,  then  the  great  potential  rights  of  the  people  are  coined 
into  dollars  which  fall  into  the  pockets  of  such  private  interests;  but  if 
these  essential  public  utilities  are  held  by  the  people  and  operated  for  the 
general  advancement  of  trade  and  the  general  good  of  all  the  owners 
thereof,  then  the  entire  community  reaps  the  resultant  benefits,  and  the 
governmental  function  is,  in  such  administration,  properly  discharged. 

Rail  and  Water  Terminal  Locations   Are  Essentially  Different  From   all 
the  Other  Classes  of  Lands. 

This  has  been  recognized  since  the  beginning  of  organized  government. 
The  Federal  Government  has  control  over  the  disposition  and  sale  of 
lands  up  to  and  including  the  line  of  ordinary  high  tide.  It  holds  in 
trust  all  of  the  tidelands,  beds  of  the  ocean,  and  the  beds  of  the  navigable 
lakes  and  rivers  intact  for  the  future  States  when  admitted  into  the  Union. 
These  become  the  property  of  the  states  through  their  sovereignty  upon 
admission  and  are  a  continuing  trust  reposed  in  them  for  the  uses  of  the 
people  of  said  state  as  aids  to  commerce,  navigation,  and  fisheries.  As 
distinguished  from  all  other  classes  of  land  no  grant  or  parchment 
passes  between  the  Federal  Government  and  the  States  and  there  are  no 
lines  run  for  the  purpose  of  computing  areas  beyond  the  line  of  ordinary 
kigh  water.  All  of  the  lands  known  as  tidelands  where  the  tide  ebbs  and 
x  1Wows  out  to  the  line  of  navigability  is  recognized  as  the  essential  terminal 
location  connecting  the  great  highways  of  land  and  of  water  and  making 
possible  public  ingress  and  egress  from  and  to  the  high  seas.  Such  location 
is  necessarily  a  single  unit  and  if  monopolized  by  private  concerns  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  public  generally  acts  as  a  blockade  against  the  develop- 
ment of  such  location.  Not  so  with  other  classes  of  property,  if  in  a  city 
one  street  is  insufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  transportation  and 
it  is  held  under  a  franchise  by  some  private  corporation  a  remedy  may 
be  applied  by  opening  up  and  developing  additional  streets  to  meet  the 
requirements  in  maintaining  the  avenues  of  trade  open.  No  complete 
monopoly  could  exist  on  the  thoroughfares  of  a  city  or  on  the  avenues 
leading  to  and  from  the  city  because  of  the  numerous  opportunities  to 
develop  in  different  directions  except  in  cities  where  trunk  lines  have 
been  monopolized  through  the  granting  of  franchises.  This  is  not  so  in 
regard  to  the  location  on  the  tidelands  where  rail  and  water  meets^the 
same  being  a  single  strip  or  connecting  link  between  land  and  the 
high  seas.  It  is  easy  to  be  monopolized  by  private  ownership  and  to  be  held 
out  of  use  to  the  detriment  of  the  development  of  commerce,  navigation, 


ROBERT  BRIDGES 


and  fisheries.  If  the  private  owners  be  merely  speculators  and  gamblers 
in  futures, or  if  they  be  quasi-public  corporations  such  as  railway  com- 
panies, they  mayx  if  they  desire  monopolize  a  terminal  location  to  the 
exclusion  of  any  and  all  other  railroad  or  shipping  concerns  that  do  not 
conform  to  their  requirements. 


Franchises  and  Discriminations. 

Added  to  this  power  in  the  hands  of  a  railway  concern  is 
the  indiscriminate  granting  of  franchises  on  the  avenues  paralleling 
or  adjacent  to  the  harbor  shipping  facilities.  This  control  breeds 
favoritism  especially  on  behalf  of  the.  larger  shipping  concerns 
by  means  of  greater  dispatch  for  their  business,  absorption  of  rail  switch- 
ing, wharfage  and  other  forms  of  waterfront  charges.  On  the  other  hand, 
where  the  business  of  the  concern  is  not  of  such  quantity  as  the  official 
of  the  railroad  may  dictate,  then  their  business  is  hampered  by  delays, 
duplication  of  switching  charges,  and  their  markets  thus  practically 
limited  to  the  line  of  railroad  in  control  of  the  monopoly  of  the  situation 
at  their  location.  As  fast  as  one  set  of  abuses  made  possible  by  such 
monopoly  is  exposed  and  corrected  a  new  set  of  abuses  are  put  into 
application.  For  instance:  Rebating  to  large  concerns  was  openly  and 
notoriously  conducted  by  railway  companies.  Now,  thanks  to  education 
of  the  American  public  on  that  point,  a  more  subtle  method  is  employed 
and  one  that  will  be  harder  to  fathom  than  the  old  method  of  openly 
rebating.  Large  shipping  concerns  may  with-hold  payment  on  freight, 
alleging  goods  damaged  in  transit,  losses  sustained  by  delays  in  deliv- 
eries, all  of  which  may  be  referred  to  the  claim  department  of  said 
railroads  and  there  remain  for  such  period  of  time  as  the  auditing  de- 
partment of  the  railroads  and  the  concern  interested  may  have  oppor- 
tunity to  determine  what  percentage  of  the  freight  due  as  tied  up  in 
such  claims,  may  be  overlooked.  In  this  manner  a  balance  is  arrived 
at  and  adjusted  satisfactorily  to  the  railroadandsiipping  concern 
whose  business  is  of  such  magnitude  as 


this  method  of  manipulation.  Another  merhod  is  the  application  of 
obscure  foot-note  rulesu  in  published  tariffs  to  give  advantages  to  big 
business  in  rates  or  classification,  while  little  business  is  charged  accord- 
ing to  the  schedule  in  bold  type.  Another  method  that  carriers  openly 
practice,  is  to  absorb  charges  from  competitive  points  while  all  charges 
are  made  against  shippers  from  non-competitive  points.  An  enlightened 
American  sentiment  is  justly  rebelling  against  all  these  devious  ways 
of  craft  and  graft  and  favoritism,  much  of  which  outcrops  in  the  system 
of  private  terminals. 

In  the  field  of  production  of  grain,  fruit,  and  other  products  the 
individual  producer  if  he  decides  to  ship  independently  of  any  brokerage 
or  other  concern  must  pay  all  of  the  charges  as  set  forth  by  the  railroad 
tariff  sheets  and  await  the  pleasure  of  the  railroad  company  in  receiving 
cars  for  the  shipment  of  his  product,  while  the  brokers  or  warehousemen 
who  accumulate  large  tonnage  from  numerous  producers  are  favored  by 
receiving  prompt  dispatch  in  the  receipt  of  cars  for  such  shipments,  and 


6  PUBLIC    TERMINALS 

the  benefits  of  whatever  absorption  practiced  may  be  in  vogue  by  the 
railroads  at  the  time.  Numerous  instances  have  been  reported  where 
railroads  have  failed  to  furnish  cars  to  individual  shippers, — such  dila- 
tory tactics  and  delays  are  incident  to  private  understandings  between 
the  big  brokers  and  warehousemen  and  the  public  carrier. 

The  individual  shippers  then  naturally  become  disappointed  and  dis- 
couraged at  being  thus  compelled  to  accept  the  prices  offered  to  them 
by  brokers  for  their  product  in  order  to  save  themselves  against  serious 
loss.  Similar  delays  in  the  spotting  of  cars  from  the  individual 
producer  is  practiced  at  the  waterfront  terminals,  while  dispatch  in 
the  switching  of  shipments  is  obtained  by  warehousemen  and  brokers. 

Of  course  ^f  deliveries  of  goods  may  be  had  promptly  when  a  buyer 
purchases  from  commission  brokers  that  inures  largely  to  the  brokers' 
benefit.  Thus  the  producer  as  an  occasional  shipper  is  not  only  disap- 
pointed himself,  but  finds  that  the  parties  to  whom  the  product  was  con- 
signed A^,.  is  seriously  disappointed  in  the  delays  incident  to  receiving 
the  goods  under  the  practices  mentioned.  The  system  of  public  ware- 
houses and  particularly  a  disinterested  publicly  owned  and  administered 
belt  line  railroad  at  seaport  closes  the  gate  to  much  discrimination  of 
this  kind. 


Warehousing  and  Distribution. 

As  a  result  of  the  losses  sustained  by  manipulations,  producers  are 
studying  the  problem  of  transportation  and  marketing  of  their  product 
in  all  of  its  phases  to  a  greater  extent  today  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  this  country.  They  are  also  studying  and  putting  into  practice 
to  a  considerable  extent  the  question  of  the  proper  warehousing  of  their 
product  so  as  to  extend  the  season  of  shipment  from  the  field  of  produc- 
tion to  the  great  centers  and  markets  of  consumption.  This  is  the  natural 
and  logical  remedy  for  the  evils  that  have  beset  the  producers. 

The  retention  of  the  ownership  of  tidelands  by  the  State,  as  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Louisiana,  makes  the  development  of  rail  and  water  terminal 
locations  possible  to  the  highest  degree.  It  enables  those  in  charge  to 
lay  out  and  properly  construct  on  modern  lines  utilities  that  are  necessary 
for  the  dispatch  and  economy  in  the  handling  of  vast  tonnage  from  rail 
to  water  and  water  to  rail.  It  thus  enables  the  segregation  of  shipments 
into  natural  component  parts.  Through  shipments  of  bulk  commodities 
carried  in  over-sea  ships  of  large  capacity  require  units  of  construction 
specially  adapted  to  their  needs-"THH?jk.  includigPfiJ  large  berthing  space, 
transit  sheds  of  sufficient  capacity  to  enable  the  ships  to  work  continu- 
ously from  their  numerous  hatches  and  in  addition  to  the  transit  sheds 
extensive  fireproof  warehouses  to  retain  products  and  preserve  them  from 
the  elements  in  suffici£nto.quantities  to  constitute  cargoes  of  immense 
tonnage.  In  addition?^ hcrFilftV  heavy  trans-shipment  business  requires 
extensive  areasyad jacent  7tp  such  wharves  and  transit  sheds  for  the  proper 
tracks  to  .fllloTrihrfiioo^  from  said  transit 

sheds  and  warehouses.  Also  cold  storage  facilities  are  needed  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  our  ever  increasing  production  and  conservation 


ROBERT  BRIDGES  7 

of  perishable  commodities.  Then  as  a  specialized  structure,  grain  eleva- 
tors are  absolutely  essential  for  the  storing,  cleaning,  receiving  and 
discharging  of  grain  with  the  utmost  dispatch  and  economy  in  the  handling 
of  this  most  important  product  which  is  peculiarly  essential  to  the  life 
of  the  nations.  Special  mechanical  devices  suited  to  handling  with  dis- 
patch all  specialized  products  is  the  aim  and  tendency  of  modern  ports. 
Such  appliances  as  are  used  in  modern  ports  today  under  public  ownership 
and  operation  are  so  productive  in  dispatch  and  economy  as  to  incite 
favorable  comment  from  all  students  and  investigators  of  these  new 
means  of  handling  commodities.  The  modern  grain  elevator  is  typical 
of  the  advancement  made  in  this  direction. 

Lumber. 

Lumber,  which  is  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  export  of  the  four 
northwestern  states  and  the  largest  in  point  of  tonnage,  requires  more 
extensive  areas  of  space  at  the  docks  than  any  other  class  of  commodities 
shipped  from  this  territory.  While  a  lumber  dock  may  be  constructed 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  also  be  capable  of  handling  general  commodities, 
it  requires  a  special  consideration  in  the  layout  and  method  of  construc- 
tion. It  calls  for  large  areas  for  the  storing  and  handling  from  rail  to 
ship  with  ample  shipside  tracks  and  crossovers.  It  should  be  especially 
equipped  with  fire  apparatus  for  the  protection  of  this  commodity  and  in 
addition  thereto  locomotive  cranes,  gantry  cranes,  extensive  depressed 
tracks  with  proper  crossovers  in  order  to  facilitate  with  dispatch  the 
handling  of  trains  loaded  with  lumber  from  interior  mills.  In  addition 
there  should  be  extensive  covered  space  for  plaried^/and  sized  lumber  of 
various  dimensions  to  meet  the  requirements  of  trade.  Shear-leg  derricks 
are  another  essential  feature  at  large  overseas  docks,  with  capacity 
according  to  the  requirements  of  commercial  shipping,  capable  of  handling 
locomotives,  heavy  machinery,  etc.,  at  least  up  to  one  hundred  tons. 
Dock  property  fully  equipped  for  this  class  of  trade  requires  numerous 
features  that  are  not  essentially  necessary  at  docks  especially  constructed 
for  other  lines  of  trade.  For  example:  at  a  rapid  transit  dock  there  should 
be  equipment  of  commodious  comfortable  waiting  rooms,  ticket  offices, 
and  separate  compartments  for  the  safe  keeping  of  small  express  packages 
enroute,  with  passenger  gangways  necessary  for  large  numbers  of  pas- 
sengers to  move  rapidly  to  and  from  dock  to  ship  or  ship  to  dock.  Such 
equipment  would  of  course  be  entirely  out  of  place,  as  a  necessary  func- 
tion of  a  lumber  dock  or  an  oversea  shipping  terminal  situation.  Spe- 
cial equipment,  highly  desirable  at  terminals  to  promote  the  general 
welfare,  will  only  be  provided  by  private  ownership  when  immediate 
visible  profit  is  seen.  Public  terminal  ownership  considers  the  need  of 
the  community  rather  than  Eastern  stockholders  or  hidebound  notions  of 
Wall  Street  voting  boards. 

Private  Owners  Driven,  Not  Leading. 

One  of  the  faults  of  private  ownership  of  the  terminal  location  is 
non-improvement  or  inadequate  improvement  of  the  waterfront.  For 


PUBLIC    TERMINALS 


instance  in  Seattle  extensive  areas  are  held  unimproved  by  owners  of 
the  tidelands  who  posses/  no  capabilities  financially  or  otherwise  to 
improve  the  property,  nor  any  desire  so  to  do.  They  simply  hold  it  as 
speculators  on  futures  tmd  gamblers  upon  the  commercial  needs  and 
development  of  thecommunity.  Then  we  have  the  private  docks  whose 
extent  and  capacityTlimited  to  the  needs  of  the  private  concern,  in  their 
own  field  of  exploitation.  Again  we  have  the  railroad-owned  locations 
improved  only  to  such  an  extent  as  will  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
business  originating  on  their  line  of  haul  and  mostly  occupied  by  lessees 
operating  in  some  special  line  of  business.  The  major  portion  of  the 
holdings  of  the  railroad  concerns  are  unoccupied /with  no  improvements 
of  any  kind  in  aid  of  commerce  and  navigation.  Furthermore  no  adequate 
provision  is  privately  made  for  the  tramp  or  irregular  steamer  to  dis- 
charge or  receive  freight  at  our  terminal  locations,when  it  is  well  known 
that  the  tramp  makes  the  ocean  freight  ratej^As  pointed  out  by  James 
J.  Hill,  who  is  certainly  an  authority  upon  me  subject  of  transportation 
and  transportation  rates,  "No  regular  line  of  steamers  determines  or 
fixes  the  rates  for  water  carriers.  The  tramp  or  occasional  steamer  de- 
termines the  rate  and  the  established  lines  are  required  to  conform  to 
the  rates  so  determined."  He  further  said  at  a  conference  held  with 
the  Port  Commission  of  the  Port  of  Seattle  at  their  office  that  "Com- 
merce was  conducted  on  such  a  close  margin  that  it  was  necessary  to 
sharpen  one's  pencil  very  fine  and  to  figure  very  closely,  even  to  a  fraction 
of  a  cent  per  ton  in  obtaining  business  today,"  and  that  business  was 
routed  to  or  from  a  given  place  on  very  close  margins.  He  repeatedly 
warned  the  Commission  in  determining  the  cost  relative  to  these  matters, 
to  be  sure  and  keep  their  pencils  sharp  and  to  figure  in  fractions  if 
Seattle  was  to  secure  and  maintain  its  supremacy  as  a  port. 

When  the  direct  question  was  asked  of  Mr.  Hill  by  the  Commission  if 
he.  speaking  for  his  company>had  any  objection  to  publicly  owned  and 
operated  docks  in  the  City  of  Seattle  his  answer  was,  "Why,  no,  if  the 
dock  we  are  now  operating  at  Smith's  Cove  would  be  of  any  benefit  to 
you  I  would  gladly  consider  the  proposition  of  turning  it  over  to  the 
Commission/  if  it  would  be  a  factor  in  encouraging  public  ownership 
and  operation  of  your  shipping  facilities  at  the  Port  of  Seattle."  But 
he  reminded  the  Commission  that  in  order  to  be  successful  you  must 
have  locations  suited  to  the  needs  of  oversea  shipping,  lumber  shipping, 
general  cargoes  and  rapid  transit.  Then  questions  were  asked  of  Mr. 
Hill  to  elicit  his  views  on  Harbor  Island,  the  artificial  island  to  the 
south  end  of  Elliott  Bay,  as  a  location.  His  answer  was  that  twenty- 
five  years  from  now  will  be  sufficient  time  to  consider  such  a  location,  at 
which  time  if  this  port  is  successful  to  the  degree  it  deserves  to  be,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  enlarge  your  units  so  as  to  embrace  and  include  therein 
the  location  of  Harbor  Island. 

Yet  the  advocates  of  private  waterfront  control  in  Seattle  proposed 
the  expenditure  of  $5,000,000  of  public  funds  on  that  desert  island! 
And,  if  you  please,  would  have  accomplished  it  and  peddled  watered 
stock  in  the  scheme  throughout  this  country,  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
Port  Commission  opposed  it. 


ROBERT  BRIDGES 


Public  Ownership  Illustrated  at  New  Orleans. 

At  the  Fourth  Annual  Convention  of  the  American  Association  of 
Port  Authorities  at  Los  Angeles,  California,  Sept.  13,  14,  15,  1915,  John 
Miegs,  Director  of  Wharves,  Docks  and  Ferries,  of  Philadelphia,  aniifr 
as  follows: 

"Probably  the  most  admirable  layout  among  American  ports  of  a 
belt-line  railroad  serving  a  waterfront  is  that  at  New  Orleans.  The 
River  frontage  of  the  city  is  located  on  a  long,  symmetrical,  unbroken 
crescent  curve,  along  which  the  wharves  are  constructed  in  front  of  the 
levee  which  protects  the  low  area  of  the  city  near  the  river  from  inunda- 
tion by  its  floods.  These  wharves  are  of  the  quay  type,  as  distinguished 
from  the  projecting-pier  system  in  general  use  in  other  American  ports, 
the  outer  or  water  edge  of  them  being  parallel  with  the  levee.  The  sheds 
upon  them  are  provided  with  spur  tracks  and  sidings  from  the  belt-line 
railroad,  which  extends  parallel  to  the  sheds  on  the  landward  side  of 
them  for  the  entire  length  of  the  improved  waterfront  of  nearly  five  miles. 

"The  port  organization  at  New  Orleans  is  in  some  respects  ideal,  the 
entire  waterfront  being  not  only  under  the  control,  but  in  the  actual 
ownership,  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  acting  through  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners of  the  Port,  an  appointed  State  body  with  very  large  powers. 
The  belt-line  railroad  is  municipally  owned  and  operated,  handling  cars 
directly,  with  its  own  locomotives,  to  and  from  the  wharves,  from  or  to 
the  railroads,  an  arrangement  giving  excellent  results  as  far  as  the  expe- 
dition of  movement  of  cars  and  the  general  satisfaction  of  shippers  is 
concerned.  The  practical  operation  of  the  port  is  believed  to  be  eco- 
nomical and  efficient  in  most  particulars,  as  in  fact  it  should  be,  under 
such  exceptionally  favorable  conditions  as  are  here  existent. 

*        *        * 

"Compared  with  the  administrative  situation  in  which  are  most  other 
American  ports,  with  the  local  authorities  in  extremely  limited  control, 
the  New  Orleans  system  is  efficiency  itself." 


Public  Belt  Railroad  Service. 

The  Public  Belt  Railroad  in  operation  in  the  City  of  New  Orleans 
produces  a  condition  in  connection  with  their  public  wharves,  sheds, 
and  warehouses  in  course  of  construction,  that  is  simply  ideal,  and  is 
well  stated  in  the  language  of  George  H.  Davis,  Civil  Engineer,  who  in 
a  reply  to  inquiries  made  by  the  officials  at  the  Mississippi  River  Terminal 
Conference  of  Governors  and  Delegates  furnished  the  following  informa- 
tion in  relation  to  the  public  belt  railroad  in  the  City  of  New  Orleans: 

"The  Public  Belt  Railroad  consists  of  about  fifty  miles  of  track, 
including  the  two  main  lines  along  the  commercial  front  and  a  number 
of  wharf  tracks,  switch  tracks,  industrial  tracks  and  public  tracks.  The 
system  extends  along  the  river  front  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  limits 
of  the  city  in  the  rear  of  all  public  wharves  and  serves  them  exclusively. 
Eventually  the  Belt  Railroad  will  encircle  the  city.  The  interchange 
between  the  Belt  Railroad  and  the  other  railroads  entering  the  city  is 
done  by  means  of  interchange  tracks  located  at  advantageous  points  in 
the  city.  Extensions  of  Belt  trackage  are  constantly  being  made  both 
in  lines  and  terminal  yards.  The  Belt  Railroad  handled  for  the  year 
ending  December,  1913,  in  excess  of  170,000  loaded  and  empty  cars. 
The  revenue  from  operation  of  the  Belt  Railroad  has  exceeded  expenses 


10  PUBLIC   TERMINALS 


of  operation,  maintenance  and  depreciation  of  locomotives  (the  Com- 
mission owns  no  other  rolling  stock),  and  the  surplus  has  been  expended 
in  extensions  and  betterments  of  the  property.  Formerly,  the  switching 
of  cars  was  very  unsatisfactory  in  that  the  shipper  was  subject  to  consid- 
erable delays  and  in  addition  charges  were  excessive.  For  instance,  if  a 
car  reached  the  city  on  a  railroad  entering  the  upper  limits  of  the  city 
and  had  to  be  transferred  to  a  railroad  in  the  lower  limits  of  the  city, 
the  charge  for  switching  would  be  from  $13.00  to  $15.00  and  a  delay  of 
several  days  would  occur  in  delivering  the  car.  This  service  is  now 
performed  by  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  at  the  flat  rate  of  $2.00  per 
car,  which  covers  the  movement  of  the  loaded  car  and  the  return  move- 
ment of  the  empty  car,  and  vice-versa.  Previously  every  pound  of 
freight  was  hauled  by  drays  and  floats,  while  now  the  incoming  freight 
to  any  industry  along  the  line  to  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  is  switched 
to  such  industries  for  $2.00  per  car,  and  all  outgoing  cars  from  such 
industries  are  delivered  to  their  proper  destinations.  It  is  the  plan 
of  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  Commission  to  extend  in  the  near  future  the 
system  to  reach  the  outlying  section  of  the  city  to  stimulate  the  con- 
struction of  factories;  located  as  they  will  be  on  the  line  of  the  Belt 
Railroad  they  will  have  direct  connection  with  every  avenue  of  trans- 
portation within  port  limits." 

Great  Public  Port  of  Montreal. 

At  the  Fourth  Annual  Convention  of  the  American  Association  of 
Port  Authorities  held  at  Los  Angeles,  1915,  it  was  stated  that  the  Harbor 
Limits  of  Montreal  comprise  sixteen  miles  of  water  frontage  on  each 
shore  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  every  foot  of  which  is  owned  by  the  public 
and  is  administered  by  a  Harbor  Commission,  appointed  by  the  Governor- 
in-Council  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

"Montreal  is  the  converging  point  of  the  three  Canadian  Transcon- 
tinental Railway  Systems,  which  connect  with  the  Harbor  Terminal 
Railroad,  forty  miles  in  length,  owned  and  operated  by  the  Harbor  Com- 
mission and  affording  access  to  the  harbor  and  to  every  railroad  upon 
equal  terms.  Every  shed  and  berth  in  the  harbor,  as  well  as  every  in- 
dustry adjacent  thereto,  is  served  by  this  railway.  This  Terminal  Rail- 
road handled  in  1907,  in  which  year  it  was  established,  70,000  cars,  and 
in  1914,  114,449  cars,  an  increase  of  over  sixty  per  cent." 

Montreal's  switching  rate  is  $2.50  per  car  which  includes  the  return 
of  the  empties. 

New    Orleans    Outgrows    Private    Waterfront    Control. 

Judge  L.  D.  Moore,  City  Attorney,  furnished  the  following  informa- 
tion to  the  City  Plan  Commission  of  St.  Louis  regarding  New  Orleans 
terminals: 

"  'Formerly  the  wharves  and  docks  of  New  Orleans  were  operated  under 
lease  by  private  individuals  and  corporations.  The  results  of  this  system 
of  administration  were  insufficient  and  expensive  facilities,  the  deteriora- 
tion and  decay  both  in  the  condition  of  the  property  and  in  the  shipping 
business  served  thereby.  Some  seventeen  years  ago  our  people,  realiz- 
ing the  serious  consequences  of  this  unsound  policy  of  administration, 
and,  forseeing  the  vast  advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  operation  of 
an  essentially  common  property  for  an  essential  public  good,  took  over  the 
old  wharves  and  landings,  and  after  overcoming  many  difficulties,  inaug- 
urated, about  thirteen  years  ago,  the  system  of  public  administration  of 


ROBERT  BRIDGES  11 


which  system  our  present  splendid  equipment,  capable  of  caring  for  the 
second  largest  export  and  import  business  in  the  United  States,  is  the 
fruition.  In  the  place  of  a  limited  area  of  primitive  wooden  wharves, 
open  and  wholly  unprotected  from  the  elements,  we  nave  now  some 
five  miles  of  commodious  docks  of  the  most  substantial  construction  and 
protected,  for  the  greater  part,  by  steel  sheds  of  the  best  approved  fabri- 
cation and  design;  and  instead  of  excessive  charges  for  meager  and 
inadequate  service,  there  is  now  levied  not  one  cent  against  the  freight 
handled  over  these  commodious  wharves,  and  only  a  minimum  charge 
assessed  against  the  ships^which  occupy  the  same. 

'  'Under  the  former  re^imeThe  important  detail  of  terminal  switch- 
ing was  operated  by  the  several  private  railroad  lines  which  had  secured 
track  privileges  on  the  river  front.  The  several  railroads  operating  on 
their  own  particular  switch  track  units  were  not  interested  in  freight 
originating  on  or  destined  to  any  other  line  than  their  own,  and  each 
of  said  railroads  levied  its  separate  switching  charge  on  all  carf  of 
other  lines  switched  upon  its  tracks.  The  results  of  such  conditions  were 
inevitably  that  excessive  burdens,  both  in  the  matter  of  delay  and  cost, 
were  put  upon  the  movement  of  the  general  frieght  traffic  of  the  port, 
and  shippers  were  in  consequence  to  a  great  extent  forced  into  the  wholly 
uneconomic  alternative  of  draying.  Some  fifteen  years  ago  the  people 
of  New  Orleans  began  a  campaign  which  had  for  its  object  the  operation 
of  a  terminal  switching  system  by  the  municipality.  About  six  years 
ago  this  movement  acquired  concrete  reality  by  the  inauguration  of  such 
a  system  by  the  city  to  be  administered  through  the  instrumentality  of  a 
board  called  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  Commission  of  the  City  of  New 
Orleans.  In  place  of  an  unsatisfactory,  unorganized  and  discriminatory 
switching  service  the  business  of  the  port  now  enjoys  the  use  of  a  com- 
prehensive public  utility  operated  in  direct  connection  with  all  avenues 
of  transportation  and  administered,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  particular 
transportation  line  or  lines,  but  in  the  interest  of  business  facility  and 
for  the  common  commercial  good;  and  instead  of  excessive  and  often 
prohibitive  charges  for  bad  service,  the  public  administration  system 
provides  expeditious  movement  and  good  service  at  a  cost  abnormally  low. 

State-rOwned  Wharves  and  Docks. 

"  'The  wharves  and  docks  of  the  Port  of  New  Orleans  as  well  as  the 
river  banks  and  the  adjacent  land  called  the  'Bature,'  which  is  dedicated 
to  public  use,  are  under  the  administrative  jurisdiction  of  an  agent  of 
the  State  of  Louisiana,  known  as  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the 
Port  of  New  Orleans.'  ' 

1  'The  jurisdiction  of  this  board  covers  both  sides  of  the  river  and 
embraces  forty-one  miles  of  waterfront  available  for  utilization  as  the 
needs  of  shipping  may  require.  Only  a  small  fraction  of  the  frontage  is 
subject  to  private  privilege,  and  even  this  privilege  is  not  held  in  fee,  but, 
by  the  terms  of  the  grant,  may  at  the  will  of  the  grantor  be  reclaimed 
upon  the  basis  of  proper  compensation  for  improvements  constructed. 
At  the  present  time  the  public  dock  system  comprises  five  miles  of  com- 
modious wharves,  with  a  floor  area  of  2,558,906  square  feet,  of  which 
wharves  upward  of  91  per  cent  are  constructed  of  creosoted  material. 
Upwards  of  three  and  one-half  miles  of  the  wharves  are  covered  by 
complete  steel  sheds.  The  wharves  are  served  by  nearly  three  miles  of 
paved  vehicle  roadways  and  approaches.  The  members  of  the  Board 
serve  without  financial  compensation.  No  charge  whatever  is  made  for 
the  use  of  these  facilities  against  the  shipments  passing  through.  The 
toll  in  this  respect  is  assessed  against  the  ships  for  dockage,  and  is 
extremely  reasonable. 

"  'Serving  the  public  wharves  and  a  large  number  of  private  indus- 
trial enterprises,  as  well  as  connecting  with  all  railroad  lines  entering 


12  PUBLIC   TERMINALS 


the  port,  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  furnishes  an  unique  and  striking  ex- 
ample of  the  successful  application  of  the  governmental  function  to  the 
satisfaction  of  urgent  general  business  needs.  This  railroad  is  a  switch- 
ing utility  owned  exclusively  by  the  City  of  New  Orleans  and  operated 
by  the  municipality  through  a  civic  board  known  as  the  Public  Belt  Rail- 
road Commission,  under  express  constitutional  inhibition  that  the  admin- 
istration thereof  must  always  be  separate  and  distinct  from  that  of  any 
railroad  entering  the  City  of  New  Orleans.  As  presently  developed  the 
Public  Belt  Railroad  has  approximately  fifty  miles  of  tracks,  including 
main  lines  and  service  adjuncts.  Ultimately  the  Belt  will  encircle  the 
city.  At  present  the  operations  of  the  utility  are  confined  to  the  water-- 
front and  contiguous  territory,  but  the  projection  of  the  lines  to  the 
rear  of  the  city  intersecting  and  tapping  sparsely  peopled  localities  par- 
ticularly eligible  for  factory  sites  and  industrial  enterprises,  is  not  only 
imminent,  but  one  important  branch  of  such  extension  is  now  actually 
completed.  The  Belt  Railroad  has  interchange  connections  with  all  trunk 
lines  entering  the  city  and  can  readily  establish  such  connections  with  all 
lines  that  may  hereafter  enter.  It  exclusively  serves  the  public  wharves, 
thus  placing  all  railroads  and  shippers  upon  the  basis  of  common,  non- 
discriminating  access  to  the  shipping  front.  This  access  is  available 
not  only  to  the  rail  lines  presently  operating  at  the  port,  but  to  all  pros- 
pective lines,  which  are  by  these  facilities  invited  to  use  the  port,  and  are 
thereby  relieved  of  the  burdensome  and  often-times  prohibitive  neces- 
sity of  gaining  such  access  under  terms  imposed  by  roads  already  estab- 
lished. A  similar  service  is  offered  to  ocean  carriers,  with  the  result 
that  the  smallest  craft,  as  well  as  the  greatest  line  of  steamers,  is  placed 
in  direct  connection  with  all  railroad  lines  of  its  own  selection.  The 
same  comprehensive  opportunity  is  supplied  to  all  industrial  establish- 
ments located  on  the  Belt  System,  by  connecting  the  same  with  every 
avenue  of  transportation,  rail  and  water,  present  and  prospective,  thus 
placing  all  such  enterprises  in  the  best  possible  position  not  only  in  the 
item  of  cost,  convenience  and  expedition,  but  also  in  respect  to  the  com- 
petitive activities  of  the  said  transportation  agencies. 

"  'The  business  of  the  Public  Belt  Railroad  has  shown  a  steady  and 
rapid  growth  from  year  to  year  both  in  respect  to  the  volume  handled 
and  the  returns  therefrom,  thus  demonstrating  not  only  the  feasibility 
of  a  publicly  owned  and  operated  switching  railroad,  but  also  the  vital 
advantage  thereof  to  both  the  commercial  and  industrial  divisions  of 
trade  and  to  the  community  at  large.'  ' 

Xeed   of  Public   Warehousing   Demonstrated. 

"  'The  success  of  these  essays  in  governmental  control  and  admin- 
istration of  port  facilities  have  encouraged  the  authorities  to  take  steps 
toward  a  material  amplification  of  the  present  system.  The  people  of 
the  State  have  by  amendment  to  the  Constitution  given  to  the  Board  of 
Commissioners  of  the  Port  of  New  Orleans  the  authority  to  construct 
and  operate  a  system  of  warehouses  in  conjunction  with  the  existing 
facilities.  This  adjunction  will  make  the  public  port  terminal  plant 
fundamentally  complete.  The  warehousing  plans  are  comprehensive,  and 
will  not  only  add  to  the  capacity  and  efficiency  of  the  dock  system  by 
relieving  the  latter  of  the  possibilities  of  congestion  caused  by  the  accu- 
mulation of  freight  awaiting  shipment  and  distribution,  but  should  mater- 
ially increase  the  business  handled  through  the  port  providing  adequate 
and  inexpensive  facilities  for  assembling  and  distributing  cargoes  and 
consignments. 

"  'The  powers  of  the  Port  Commission  to  develop  terminal  facilities 
by  the  construction  and  operation  of  warehouses,  structures  and  appliances 
are  limited  only  by  the  need  thereof.  All  powers  requisite  to  the  efficiency 
of  this  port  as  a  depot,  storage,  and  trans-shipping  point  for  local  and 


ROBERT  BRIDGES  13 


foreign  consignments,  are  lodged  with  that  governmental  agency.  It  is 
given  the  right  to  expropriate,  and  in  some  instances  to  appropriate, 
property  when  necessary.  It  is  authorized  to  issue  mortgage^  'and  boh4s 
against  the  real  estate  and  buildings  erected  thereon^  payable  out  of1  the 
net  earnings  after  payment  of  oprating  expenses.  It  is  empowered  to  fix 
charges  for  the  storage  of  all  goV)ds  and  merchandise;  and  it  may  issue 
negotiable  receipts  for  property  and  merchandise  in  its  possession.'  " 


Testimony  of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Corporations. 

The  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Corporations  on  Transportation 
by  Water  in  the  United  States,  Part  III,  says: 

"Two  ports  only,  New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco,  are  noteworthy  for 
their  high  degree  of  public  ownership,  control,  efficiency,  and  equipment. 
At  New  Orleans  the  active  water  front  is  admirably  equipped  and  con- 
trolled by  a  state  board;  most  of  the  wharves  and  sheds  are  open  for 
general  traffic,  and  a  municipal  board  operates  ten  miles  of  belt-line 
railway  giving  co-ordination  between  the  waterway,  local  industries,  and 
trunk-line  railroads.  At  San  Francisco  there  is  an  excellent  system  of 
wharves  under  state  control,  kept  open  for  general  traffic.  The  water 
terminal  situation  in  these  two  cities  is  by  far  the  best  in  the  country." 

The  situation  has  been  greatly  developed,  extended  and  improved 
since  this  report  was  issued  in  1910. 

In  addition  to  the  dispatch  and  economy  produced  to  shippers  at 
New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco  another  important  feature  is  added  under 
public  ownership  and  operation  of  the  rail  and  water  terminal  facilities^ 
the  fair  and  impartial  treatment  accorded  to  all  concerns.  One  of  the 
standing  rules  at  New  Orleans  is  to  the  effect  that  favoritism  in  service 
means  instant  dismissal  to  any  employee  who  is  found  guilty  of  granting 
favoritism  to  any  concern  big  or  little.  This  rule  has  never  been  known 
to  be  violated. 

Economy   through   public    ownership    and    operation    is    had,    first,    in 
the  prompt  service  rendered  the  patrons  of  the  docks  and  belt  line  facili- 
ties.    Second,  in  opening  up  all  d^the  avenues  both  rail  and  water  to  'Hiir 
lr  tM  manufacturers  and  shippers  in  a  port  publicly  owned  and 


operated.     Third,  in  the  enlarged  facilities  and  co-ordinated  units  possible 
only  under  public  ownership  and  operation. 

Private  ownership  of  terminal  locations  constitutes  a  monopoly,  and 
is  far  reaching  in  its  effect  both  national  and  inter-national  upon  the 
commerce  and  well-being  of  the  people  generally.  It  would  be  just  as 
consistent  for  the  State  to  place  the  water  of  Puget  Sound  in  private 
possession  as  to  dispose  of  the  terminal  locations  on  Puget  Sound  to 
v  private  persons  and  corporations.  It  would  be  just  as  logical  for  private 
concerns  to  own  the  streets  and  thoroughfares  leading  to..  andd£i£i?~city, 


located  at  a  water  and  rail  terminal  i     it  TTTOJ_  tn  sell  the  terjH&nal  loca- 
tion to  private  concerns. 

In  order  to  fully  comprehend  the  extent  of  the  monopoly  of  a  rail 
and  water  terminal  situation  permit  me  to  quote  from  Frederick  C.  Howe, 
United  States  Immigration  Commissioner,  for  the  Port  of  New  York: 


14  PUBLIC   TERMINALS 


The  Bagdad  Railway: 

"The  Bagdad  Railroad  more  than  any  one  single  incident,"  Howe 
declared,  "was  the  cause  of  Europe's  present  war. 

"The  Bagdad  Railway  was  the  most  collossal  attempt  at  financial 
exploitation  and  expansion  ever  entered  into  by  any  country.  It  was  the 
most  splendid  of  all  dreams  of  the  German  financier  and  imperialist  com- 
bined. 

"The  dream — now  apparently  ended  by  this  war — was  a  great  rail- 
road system  from  Constantinople  to  the  Persian  Gulf — across  Asia  Minor 
a*nd  Syria  and  Persia.  Or,  rather,  as  the  German  mind  saw  it,  it  was  a 
railroad  from  Hamburg  through  Austria  and  Turkey  and  the  Euphrates 
Valley  and  on  to  India  and  Australia.  Such  a  railroad  would  be  a  wedge 
to  .split  the  British  Empire  asunder.  It  would  place  Germany  nearer  to 
the  Suez  Canal  than  England  would  be.  It  would  put  Egypt  and  India 
at  Germany's  mercy.  It  would  separate  Russia  from  her  control  of  the 
Balkan  State.  France  would  be  cut  off  from  Russia.  It  was  a  dream  of 
empire  like  that  of  Rome;  a  dream  like  that  of  Alexander  and  Napoleon. 

The  Vast  Dream: 

"In  1888  and  1898  the  Kaiser  visited  Turkey  with  dramatic  display. 
The  result  was  the  granting  of  the  Bagdad  Railway  concessions  to  capi- 
talists identified  with  the  Deutsche  Bank.  They  included  a  tract  of  land 
twelve  and  one-half  miles  wide  on  both  sides  of  the  railroad  for  1,500 
miles  and  the  building  of  quays  at  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  region  has 
valuable  coal  and  oil  ^fields;  it  can  produce  more  wheat  than  Russia.  The 
German  merchant  could  send  merchandise  to  the  Orient  quicker  and 
cheaper  than  the  British,  and  spiked  helmets  could  be  dumped  into 
England's  possessions  as  well. 

"England,  however,  saw  the  plan.  One  day  a  gunboat  sailed  at 
Koweit,  the  terminal  harbor  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  presently  appeared 
a  treaty  made  with  the  Shiek  of  Koweit,  by  which  the  Shiek  disavowed 
his  Turkish  allegiance  and  accepted  British  'protection'  for  the  harbor 
and  adjacent  territory.  Then  the  British  foreign  office  informed  Germany 
that  the  road  either  could  not  be  extended,  or  else  that  half  the  control 
must  be  British. 

The  dream  ended. 

"As  a  piece  of  diplomacy,  the  occupation  of  Koweit  was  a  stroke  of 
genius.  As  one  of  the  provoking  causes  of  the  present  European  war  it 
was  a  costly  move.  Since  then  we  have  the  spectacle  of  a  German  popu- 
lace carefully  educated  by  its  press  to  hate  the  English.  Germany  can- 
not forget  the  ruin  of  its  dreams  of  empire  through  the  Bagdad  Railway." 

An  Old  Alliance. 

Greater  economy  will  result  from  a  continuation  of  public  owner- 
ship when  the  profits  to  private  monopoly  fcf*no  longer  forthcoming.  Then 
the  alliance  between  politics  and  business — the  same  old  alliance  that 
has  corrupted  our  legislatures  and  cities — will  no  longer  have  any  sub- 
stance to  exist  upon.  Several  important  forces  are  making  their  influences 
felt  against  such  private  monopoly.  Our  educational  institutions  are 
teaching  political  economy  in  a  much  broader  sense  now  than  heretofore, 
equipping  the  young  people  to  study  further  the  vital  questions  that  stir 


ROBERT  BRIDGES 


15 


men  into  action  in  daily  life.      The  so-called   "conservative"  who  would 
deny  young  citizens  in  our  State  University  the,  right  to  discuss  questions 

calmly  in  the  classroom  that  move  men  J 1 1  iiffinTTll    mi   I II       I  iTTl    i 

the  upstairs  hall  or  in  the  logging  camp,'isbftth  a  coward  and  a  foe  to 
democracy  and  progress.  The  fundamental  principles  of  government  are 
understood  to  a  greater  extent  throughout  the  world  owing  to  the  learn- 
ing, mental  application,  sharpened  intelligence,  and  developed  logic  of 
the  American  people.  They  are  not  afraid  to  apply  their  mental  equip- 
ment to  an  open  and  free  discussion  of  any  and  all  questions  that  Affect 
their  welfare  as  a  people.  And  as  a  result  of  study  and  discussion,  often 
mislekd,  often  suppressed,  they  are  learning  that  any  public  utility 
in  itself  constitutes  a  monopoly  should  be  owned  and  operated  by  the 
public  in  the  interest  of  all  the  people. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


Photomount 
pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Stockton,  Calif. 

™.  JAN.  21.  1908 


YD  05939 


C443G5 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


